Autopsy: Oxford child died of blunt trauma

Anne M. Amato

Updated 11:23 pm, Tuesday, September 17, 2013

OXFORD -- An autopsy has determined that Lily Ann Brooks, 3, injured in a head-on collision last week, died Saturday from blunt impact injuries to her head, neck and chest, according to a spokeswoman at the Office of the Chief State's Medical Examiner in Farmington.

Lily was one of five people who sustained injuries Wednesday when her mother's car was hit head on by a vehicle driven by Garrett Baker, 30, of Deering Lane, Waterbury. Besides Lily and Baker, Lily's mother, Amy Williams Brooks, 32, her brother, Sebastian, 9 months, and Nicole Bahr, 28, a passenger in Baker's Ford service truck, were also injured.

The accident took place on Quaker Farms Road, near Lily's home and Christ Church Quaker Farms, where Lily attended pre-school. It was Lily's first year at the school.

Connecticut State Police said Baker was traveling south when his vehicle crossed into the northbound lane, striking Williams' 2010 Subaru Outback.

Both Lily and her brother were properly secured in child car seats, police said.

No charges have been filed.

A funeral service for Lily, who was born July 28, 2010, in Derby, will take place Friday at 11 a.m. at Christ Church Quaker Farms, 470 Quaker Farms Road. Lily's family will receive friends on Thursday from 4 to 6 p.m., also at Christ Church Quaker Farms, according to information on the website of Carmon Funeral Homes, which is in charge of the arrangements.

Besides her mother and brother, Lily is survived by her father, Jonathan, her maternal and paternal grandparents, an aunt, two uncles and several other relatives.

Lily was "an absolute joy to her family" and had "a passion for everything," according to her obituary. "She loved to run and dance, had a child's gift for curiosity and the desire to learn all that she could," it said.

Donations in Lily's memory may be made to the Oxford Public Library, 486 Oxford Road., Oxford 06478. Friends have also set up a fund for the family at Wells Fargo Bank, 11 Klarides Village Drive, Seymour 06483. Checks can be made payable to the Lily Brooks Memorial Fund.